Yosemite’s Tioga Pass to open noon Friday

Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park will open for the season at noon Friday.

Since 1980, this ties for the earliest opening with 1987, when the road was also opened on May 2. Last year the road opened on May 11. The average opening date is May 27, in time for Memorial Day Weekend.

Tioga Road, bounded on both sides by State Highway 120, is the popular crossing of the Sierra Nevada that tops out at 9,943-foot Tioga Pass and leads east down to Mono Lake.

Vault toilets will be available in several locations along the road, said Kari Cobb at park headquarters. “Limited visitor services will be available over the next several weeks.”

Due to a light snowpack this past winter, about 30 percent of normal for April, the Tioga Road was cleared of snow early into the season. Snow and icy conditions may still exist on hiking trails at the higher elevations. Visitors are urged to be prepared for snowy conditions and possible treacherous stream crossings while hiking the backcountry in the early season.

All campgrounds along the Tioga Road are closed. All commercial services, including the gas station, store, and village grill, are also closed. There are no anticipated opening dates for any of these facilities, Cobb said.

The photos on the left were taken on April 22 after four inches of snow fell in the high country. On Thursday, temperatures reached the 80s in Yosemite Valley, setting off snowmelt in the high country and recharging waterfalls.